Is This The End?
by luvin-benadam
Summary: It couldn't end like this. Not now, not ever. Not before he told her what he really thought of her. But the blood was still pouring and even though he didn't want to believe it, time was running out.
1. Not Now, Not Ever

The world around her spun, her head heavy with emotion and exhaustion. She tried to open her eyes, tried to pry open the shutters that were blocking out the light, tried to swim through the darkness that was engulfing her to the muffled voices that seemed to lay so far above her. But she was attempting the inevitable. Her lungs seared with pain although she couldn't tell why and her breathing was coming in short gasps.

In what seemed to be another world high above her, she could hear a voice, a pleading, searching voice, calling out to her, trying to bring her out of the dark and back to reality. But her body was heavy and dull and she seemed to have lost the ability to function and move.

"Come on Bones! Wake up!" she could hear the voice calling desperately. Something clicked dully in her mind, registering that the voice belonged to Booth. She tried even harder to open her eyes but they still remained firmly shut.

"Stay with me babe! Come on Temperance! TEMPERANCE!" He was yelling now, slightly shaking her shivering body in his arms. Something about Booth using her given name dully awoke something inside of her but it wasn't enough to snap her out of her reverie.

"Temp please … please," he begged, lowering his head down to hers and running his fingers through her cold hair. He couldn't help but think that if he just believed her in the first place, that if he had taken that leap of faith and gone where the evidence was leading him like Bones had done, than this whole mess could have been avoided.

"Temperance, I'm begging you here," Seeley whispered into her ear, letting out a little laugh at the desperation he was possessing. "Come on babe, stay with me."

The haze lifted slightly from her head and the throbbing pain that had been dissolved as she slipped into her imagination returned at full force. She coughed slightly, exasperating blood from her lungs up into her mouth and rolling over to cough it out.

"Bones!" Booth cried, holding her head up a little more as she spluttered the blood out. The familiar scent of his cologne rolled over her and allowed her to slip a little back into a state of calm. However the searing pain in her upper ribs was still to painful to ignore.

She opened her eyes, staring into the scared and startled face of Seeley Booth. He was looking back down at her small frame curled up in his arms, her face slightly distorted in pain. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, allowing her a little encouraging smile. She blinked heavily, dragging her arm heavily up her side and coming to a rest on her abdomen. She pulled her hand slowly away upon feeling a wetness and put it in front of her face, the crimson red of her own blood staring back at her.

"Welcome back," he said, taking a cloth from beside him and pressing it to her gunshot wound. She winced in pain and he immediately apologized, his heart racing a mile a minute.

In a shuddering breath that nearly stopped Booth's heart, she drew in a staggering breath, the air catching in her chest. She stopped and tried to pull herself into a sitting position, allowing her asofogas to open up and cool air to enter her lungs. But even in the sitting position with Booth's arm under her neck for support, her oxygen supply was cut off and the haze threatened to engulf her again.

"Bones? …" Seeley started, caught off guard by the sudden lack of air she was receiving. "BONES! TEMPERANCE! You just gotta hang on a little longer Temp! TEMPERANCE!" he yelled as her eyes closed and she drew in one last shuddering breath.

Carried by the wind down the long twisting dirt road, Booth could hear sirens from the ambulance rushing down the road to the rescue. But two thoughts ran through Booth's head. Would Temp be ok, and would they make it there on time?


	2. It Only Hurts

Ok guys … sorry about the wait and the spelling of oesophagus. I still don't know if that's right. But that's the only correction that looked remotely right on my spell check. Lol. Ok well … here's the next part.

**Disclaimer: Not mine, I don't own 'em. Just like to play with 'em. But don't worry, I'll put them back just as they were when I'm done! Oh and the lyrics to It Only Hurts belong to Default.**

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She had come so far, pulled through this to this point; she couldn't give up, not now; not ever. He grasped her fingers in his hand; they sat limp and cold in his palm. But no matter how hard he tried to shake the life back into her, the attempt seemed to be futile.

The sound of the ambulance carried down by the wind seemed to have been a cruel trick played on him by his desperate mind. Or perhaps he was so consumed with worry that every sound other than the ragged and almost non-existent breathing of the dying woman in his arms that every other sound had been tuned out.

_Can hold my breath only for a little while 'til reality starts sinking in  
once again I'm settling for second best turn the pages skip to the end  
to where I swore that I would try since the last time I crossed that line in the back of my mind I know…_

In a reality that hit him like a piano falling from the sky, the sounds of ambulances and police cars greeted his welcome ears, coming to save Temp, the one thing it seemed he couldn't do.

"They're here Bones. Hear that?" he whispered into her ear, not knowing, nor caring, if she could even hear him. "That's the ambulance. You see … I told you you were going to be ok," he smiled, brushing a stray piece of her dark hair out of her eyes.

… _It only hurts when your eyes are open lies get tossed and truth is spoken it only hurts when that door gets open dreams are lost and hearts are broken_

His lips quivered with the possibilities he didn't want to think about; the possibility that Temp wouldn't make it, the possibility that he would never again peer over her shoulder and admire her work or be scolded when he called her Bones. She had to make it … she just had to. There were so many things he had wanted to tell her for so long, so many things he had put off because he thought he had more time, just like everyone else.

_Miles away promise from a burning bed two worlds should never collide  
one word would end it if you ever heard tear the page out that reminds me when I swore that I'd be strong now the next time has come and gone well maybe I'm wrong I know …_

He promised himself that he would never put off anything again, and then scoffed that the thought had even crossed his mind. He was in an irate state right now, nothing he said or thought he would be held accountable for.

_It only hurts when your eyes are open lies get tossed and truth is spoken it only hurts when that door gets open dreams are lost and hearts are broken_

Booth pulled Bones body a little closer to his chest, rubbing his hand in small circles over the small of her back, the other hand still pressing his jacket to her bullet wound. He couldn't believe this had happened to her; to her of all people. The distant sound of a gunshot echoed through his memory, his mind showing him images he never wanted to see again; images of Brennan clutching her stomach, then slowly crumpling to her knees on the barn floor, then keeling over to a lying position among the hay.

_I know what your feeling it's hard to believe in someone, someone who's not there  
I know that your waiting 'cause love is worth saving but only for so long, so long, so long _

If only he hadn't said so many of the things he had. Things that there was quite a possibility he would never be able to take back again. Suddenly from his arms, a harsh gasp filled the air. His head immediately snapped down to her face, contorted in pain. Her eyes were open, staring with raw fear into his. Never before had he seen her so scared.

_I_ _swore that I would try since the last time, the last time_

_It only hurts when your eyes are open lies get tossed and truth is spoken it only hurts when that door gets open dreams are lost and hearts are broken_

He had never seen her so vulnerable, without the walls that usually guarded her and fenced her in. There were so many things he wanted to say, all of which he wanted to say more than anything. But the chances that she would remember any of it when she recovered, _when _and not_ if, _were slim to none. So he decided to focus all his energy on taking her mind off of her pain, and the fact that she had regained consciousness was a fantastic sign.

"You're awake," he said, brushing more hair out of her eyes. "How's the pain?" he quirked with a lopsided grin.

"How do you think?" she asked, gasping for air after every couple of words.

"You hear that?" he asked, wanting to keep her awake and alert.

She closed her eyes and listened, taking as steady breaths as her wound would allow. The growing noise of sirens greeted her ears and she couldn't help but allow a small smile.

"Ya. I hear it," she whispered, wincing in the effort of talking.

"It's ok. Shhh. Just take it easy. It's over. I promise," he said, lowering his head and resting it against hers.

_It only hurts when your eyes are open lies get tossed and truth is spoken it only hurts when that door gets open dreams are lost and hearts are broken_

The steady pound of heavy boots could be heard reverberating off the red walls of the barn and Seeley raised his head. "We're over here!" Booth yelled, raising his head from hers and calling out for help.

The sound of the footsteps hurried up and two paramedics came into view. They rushed over to Bones and Booth, bending down next to Temp and pulling out their equipment.

"BP's 90 over 80," one of the paramedics said.

"Pulse is erratic and irregular," the other said. "On the count of three. One …" One of the paramedics steadied himself at Bones' feet, the other at her head. "Two …" they slid their hands under her body which was drenched in cold sweat. "Three." They lifted her from Booth's arms and placed her on the gurney, strapping her down and starting to wheel her away.

"Booth?" her quiet voice called from the retreating gurney.

He pulled himself up from the ground and ran to catch up with the paramedics who were wheeling her quickly away.

"Ya Bones? I'm right here," he said, taking her hand in his.

"Promise?" she asked, her voice quiet and strained.

"Promise."

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**Ok I know the song doesn't really have anything to do with the situation but it's a really good song and I felt like putting it in. Anyways … the next chap. is gonna be a flashback of the case they were working on and how Bones got shot. Don't forget to review!**

**Love Megan!**


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